


A Different Set of Rules

by RowynSN



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, Minor Character Death, Mythology - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-18
Updated: 2015-03-18
Packaged: 2018-03-18 12:15:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3569315
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RowynSN/pseuds/RowynSN
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Find a witch, resurrect Allison, live happily ever after. These things should've been easy. But Lydia guessed life was never so simple.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Different Set of Rules

**Author's Note:**

> A thousand thanks to my betas [jadefervidus](https://www.fanfiction.net/u/1804562/) and [babs](http://archiveofourown.org/users/dansunedisco/works) who without, this fic would have been a complete mess, and then my wonderful [artist](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Lilith/pseuds/Lilith) whose art inspired this story.

The words came out desperate and ragged as if she'd just run a mile. Her heart pounded, palms sweated, and hands shook.

She said the words again, only louder. The surrounding candles flickered and the ground shook. She dug her fingernails into her palms to ground herself. Just a bit longer. Then, Allison would be back with her. Lydia screamed the words to cement the ritual and the ground shook harder. A painfully bright light came from the middle of the circle. Her eyes felt as if they were on fire and she covered them until the light died down. Opening her eyes, Lydia held her breath and leaned in. In the center, Allison lied limp, appearing as she did before she had died.

"Allison," Lydia breathed and went to her side. Before Lydia touched her arm, Allison surged up and took a desperate gulp of air, eyes so wide they looked as if they'd pop out. Wait, were her eyes...red? Allison looked around as if searching for answers, not looking at Lydia. "Allison, are you alright?"

Then her gaze snapped to Lydia and Allison froze. Lydia wanted to ask her all sorts of questions, but instead, she took Allison in her arms and hugged her tightly and Allison returned the hug. This was so unbelievable. Allison was here. After so many months stewing in loneliness, she was finally here. The tears just wouldn't stop. She was silent at first, but then she started sobbing, the grief and pain from that time before coming back wrapped in sharp relief. Allison didn't say anything, just tightened her hold as if reassuring her.

 

 

When they parted, Lydia wiped her eyes and got up. "Are you hungry? I can make you something to eat."

Allison shook her head, eye color darkening to black. The urge to ask a bunch of questions resurfaced; instead, she went upstairs and Allison followed.

"No one's here apart from me, so you don't have to worry about anyone walking in and realizing you're alive." Not that Allison was probably worrying about it as much as Lydia, but she felt the need to say it.

When they got to her - no,  _their_ \- room, Lydia smiled at all of the hard work she had put into it. She had bought a new bed with the same amount of firmness Allison's old bed had, new clothes and even new electronics and other things that would keep her entertained. "So I bought you your own bed. I didn't -"

Before Lydia could get out another word, Allison trudged towards the bed and lied down.

 _Already?_  Lydia wasn't even done telling her about all of the stuff she'd added for her benefit, much less caught up with her. She'd been dead for what seemed like forever and Lydia didn't bring her back for her to simply fall asleep. She wanted to spend time with her and hear her voice.

Sighing, she went to her own bed to lie down before turning to look at Allison sleeping so peacefully. This was how it was going to be from now on: peaceful, and just the two of them. Maybe that's what their problem had been last time. Maybe if Allison had been kept hidden, she would have lived. It would kill Lydia if she died again, even if she could resurrect her. Although that didn't seem like a viable option, seeing as the ritual she had used was dubious at best and the witch had warned her against using it ever again.

Then she remembered how it was just before Allison came back. Lydia used to be alone. The pack and her had drifted apart and she rarely talked to them anymore. Not that she wanted to anytime soon. Lydia had Allison now.

Lydia went to sleep that night hopeful for the future. Something she hadn't felt in a while.

Lydia woke Allison up the next morning before she went to school.

"Promise me you won't leave."

Allison, groggy, nodded and went back to sleep. Lydia wasn't okay with leaving her, even with the promise, but she had to. She didn't need anyone sniffing around. Her mom wouldn't be a problem seeing as she was out of town at the moment, but the old lady her mom had put in charge of Lydia might tell her and Lydia couldn't let that happen. Explaining why a dead girl was in their house was not a conversation she wanted to have.

School was a long and drawn out affair that she couldn't seem to concentrate on **,** no matter how hard she tried. With Allison at her house, so close but so far away, Lydia's mind kept going back to her. When school was finally done, she raced home to find Allison still sleeping. Had she even woken up?

"Allison," she said while shaking her lightly. "Wake up."

Allison didn't wake. Lydia's throat suddenly became dry as she gripped the side of Allison's shirt.

_Don't tell me... Is she...?_

Shaking her harder, Lydia said her name again, voice cracking. Allison stirred not long after with a yawn and then, when she noticed Lydia, a tilt of her head to the left. She probably looked so desperate right now, but Lydia couldn't force herself to care.

Allison didn't say anything. She had yet to talk. Was something wrong?

"Can you speak?"

Allison shook her head.

Did she do something wrong? Why was Allison not speaking? Did the spell go wrong? Allison opened her mouth as if to say something but quickly closed it, eyes darting to the side like she felt guilty about something. So she wanted to talk, but couldn't? "For whatever reason you're not talking, just know that I'm not mad."

Allison looked up and met her gaze, eyes then darting across Lydia's face as if looking for some sort of sign. She must have found it because she nodded slowly.

Instead of dwelling on the topic more, she merely asked, "Do you want to take a shower? You remember where the bathroom is right?"

Allison nodded.

Lydia fetched her a washcloth and towel from the closet in the hallway before saying, "The witch said that you might have problems with your new body, so I'll be right out here if you need me."

She nodded again and took the towel and washcloth from Lydia's hands.

Then Lydia remembered, "Here, I'll get your clothes." She grabbed a random outfit before handing them over.

When Allison was done in the bathroom, she lied back down on her bed and then stared at Lydia as if she expected something. Maybe she wanted her to talk?

"I've missed you. Have you missed me?"

Allison nodded and they gave each other smiles. Lydia had the sudden urge to join Allison on her bed, to hold her and never let go.

"You don't even know how much I've missed you." Deciding to just do it, she got up and plopped down on Allison's bed before pulling her to her chest and breathing in the smell of her. Allison returned the hug. She smelled the same, only now wrapped in Lydia's shampoo and soap. Allison didn't push her away but instead, her grip grew stronger. Lydia stayed silent, knowing that talking would ruin the moment. She needed this and if Allison's grip was anything to go by, she needed this just as much. They only separated when the old lady came to the door, but came back not long after. She fell asleep quickly after that.

The next morning, Lydia couldn't force herself to get up. She was so warm and comfortable in Allison's arms that the thought of leaving them was unpleasant. But she had to go to school...or did she? Deciding against it, she closed her eyes again, not really going back to sleep, but something close. Allison stirred not long after, head peeking from under her arm, smile sleepy but bright. Something in Lydia's chest squeezed and she smiled back.

The day passed in leisure, only, as they spent time together, fear spread through Lydia like the plague. What if someone took her away again? While Lydia knew Allison was more than capable of defending herself, she feared that if she turned her back for even a moment, Allison would be gone and Lydia would go back to how things were for the past two months. She had skipped school today - something she had never done before, and she wanted to do it again tomorrow, and the next day, and the next, because what if someone found her while Lydia was gone?

Worries filled her mind to the brim, even when they were about to go to sleep. Allison must have sensed something was wrong because she kept trying to get her to smile before bed and she did, but it didn't make her feel any better or relieve the ache growing in her stomach. She didn't sleep well that night.

The next morning Lydia knew she had to go to school. She didn't need anyone coming to check on her, her phone was already full of messages of people asking if she was alright.

Lydia got ready for school reluctantly, fear tugging at her chest as her gaze seemed stuck on Allison's form. Something could happen and she wouldn't be able to stop it - just like last time.

School went unnaturally slow. If she thought her focus two days ago had been bad, this was so much worse. She bumped into several people in the halls, teachers called on her and she didn't answer until they yelled her name for a response. Stiles was the first to come up to her while she was at her locker.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" She fiddled with a pen in her bag before taking out the notebook next to it and putting it in her locker.

"You've been distracted all day. Not to mention you weren't at school yesterday."

"I've been sick."

Stiles narrowed his eyes. "You've been sick?"

"Yes, I've been sick. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get to class," she said as she closed her locker and turned towards him and gave him a withering glare.

She left after that. Stiles didn't follow her - thank God - but he tried talking to her later and Lydia gave him some lame excuse before nearly running to her car. Coming home was sharp relief. Only, the feeling morphed into the opposite and she swallowed thickly. A car was in the driveway.

Her mom was back.

She ran to the door and threw it open. Her mom was passed out on the couch, not stirring at the loud bang, a glass of water on the table next to her.

"Mom. Wake up," she all but yelled.

She twitched before her eyes opened and she stretched out her limbs. "What happened?"

"Why are you here? I thought you weren't going to be back for a week."

"I wasn't. The project I was working on fell through."

"Oh."

"Why -"

Something growled from the kitchen, cutting off her words. Lydia's eyes grew wide. What was that?

"Please tell me you bought a new pet or something, Mom."

"No." She could practically hear her swallow. "I didn't."

She could feel death tickle at the edge of her awareness. "We need to get out of this house. Now."

They burst into action a second later, sprinting outside. Then she remembered Allison. Not even thinking about her mother, she sprinted back inside and made her way upstairs.

"Allison!" she screamed. She threw open the door and closed it before locking it. Allison was still sleeping. Lydia shook her. "Wake up. Please wake up now."

The growling grew louder outside the door. Too loud. She couldn't hear herself think. The thing stopped growling and instead, started barking strangely, akin to a dog's but deeper: more sinister. Allison finally woke seconds later. "We need to look for weapons," Lydia said.

With shaking hands, Lydia searched the room with Allison, not quite remembering where she had put her baseball bat. The thing slammed against the door hard. She heard the wood in the door splinter.

It was coming.

She dropped to her knees and looked under her bed. A pair of pants lay wrinkled, she pushed them to the side. Where did she put her bat? An old purse, some more clothes. The door splintered more. It kept barking. The sound pounded into her skull like a hammer. The bat wasn't under her bed.  _Fuck._  She hopped up to go look in her closet but it was too late.

She turned around as the door splintered open and she froze. The dog leapt towards her. It was so fast that she couldn't take in its features.

This was the end, wasn't it? She closed her eyes and ducked down, but nothing happened. She opened her eyes. The thing was lying on the ground. It looked just like a German shepherd but bigger than any she had ever seen, probably taller than her. Allison glared at the thing, hand out as if she just killed it with it. She couldn't have hit him from there. Wait - did Allison have magic? When did that happen?

"What did you do?"

Allison's glare melted before turning towards her, not answering the question.

"What do you think it is?"

Allison gave her a look like she knew but didn't dare talk. Before Lydia could wonder about her not talking again, a scream rips through her.

Oh no. _Her mother_.

Lydia took off downstairs with Allison close behind. This feeling had to be wrong. Maybe Lydia had just imagining it. Getting closer to the living room, her steps faltered.

Her mom was in a puddle of her own blood. Lydia hadn't imagined it. Her mom was dead. She fell to her knees beside her. Her hands started to shake as she reached for her mom but stopped just short of touching her, hand recoiling as if something had burnt her.

"Mom," she said, voice breaking, tears burning at the edge of her eyes.

Allison took her in her arms and she held on for dear life. Her mom was dead. Like Allison had been, but Allison was brought back to life, wasn't she? Maybe she could... The witch's grave warning then echoed in her mind:  _"Only use this spell once, or the consequences will be dire."_

But she couldn't get herself to care. This was her mom they were talking about. "We have to revive her. She'll come back like you and everything will be okay. Everything will okay, right?" Her voice broke on the last word.

Allison shook her head.

"But I have to. It's my mom. I can't just abandon her."

Allison shook her head again and grabbed hold of her hand.

"But I have to..."

Allison shook her head again, only more forceful and she gripped her hand tighter. Despite the want to argue with her more, Lydia knew Allison was right. Resurrecting Allison had already been pushing it and Lydia couldn't push her luck even more and resurrect her mom. The realization made her eyes burn once more and before she knew it, she was sobbing onto Allison's shoulder again. Allison's grip was steady and she eventually started rubbing her back lightly. It only made Lydia cry harder, but she got up anyways and went to the phone and called 911. A dispatcher picked up and Lydia immediately told her what happened. The lady on the phone told her that the police would be coming sometime soon and then they both hung up.

"Take the car and go to - " she paused and thought for a second, " - to the motel at the edge of town. They'll be coming soon, but I'll be there as soon as I can."

Allison gave Lydia one last lingering hug and a look as if she didn't want to leave her, but did so anyways.

The cops came not long after she left. Lydia was a wreck. With Allison gone, she didn't have that support and it made everything worse. Glancing at her mother's body again made the sobs come back full force. Stiles' dad took her away from the scene as the cops blocked it off as a crime scene. She wanted to protest as he put her in the front of the car. She had to get to the motel with Allison after all, but she just watched as cars pulled up to her house and people went inside. Then, Lydia and Stiles' dad pulled out.

Stiles' dad didn't say anything until her house was out of view. Lydia was silent in her crying now. "Do you have somewhere you can go tonight?"

"Y-yes," she said choking on the word.

He looked at her briefly before looking back at the road. "Are you sure? You could always stay at my house for a bit if you want."

"I want to be alone."

"Is that really the best idea? Your mom just died. You should - "

Despite the overwhelming grief she felt, anger rose in its place. "Don't tell me what I should do." It would have sounded a lot more intimidating if she hadn't sniffled through the entire thing.

He sighed. "I can't leave you somewhere that you won't be taken care of."

"I will be. I just need to be alone."

"Well," he said and she could tell he did not want to drop her off anywhere she'd be alone at, but surprisingly he said, "Where to then?"

She half expected him to flat out reject her decision.

"The motel on the edge of town. Please."

"The motel? Is that really smart -?"

"Yes," she cut him off. "It'll just be for a bit. Just enough time for me to calm down and for you guys to be done with the house."

He paused as if contemplating it, but then finally let out a long sigh and nodded. "Okay. But promise me you'll call your dad."

"I promise."

He drove her to the motel and Lydia scanned the parking lot for her car, but it wasn't there. Did Allison not get here yet or something else? The sheriff stayed until she paid the lady at the front desk and waved him off. As soon as he was out of sight, she walked around the building, hoping she'd find Allison in her car somewhere. Lydia let out a sigh as she spotted her in the back parking lot. Allison's head rested on the steering wheel. Lydia knocked on the glass and Allison turned towards her. Then Lydia showed Allison the keys and Allison gave Lydia a hug. When they came apart, Allison dried the remaining tears on Lydia's face. She'd stop crying but it didn't hurt any less.

After, they headed to their room. When they finally got there, Lydia was ready to collapse again and go back to sleep but that wouldn't help. She needed to figure everything out first.

How was she going to face her dad? She'd let her mom die, just like she'd let Allison die.

"You can take a shower if you want," Lydia said to Allison. She nodded and went do just that. Lydia sighed and dialed the number, dread building at the pit of her stomach.

" _Hello?_ " her father answered and Lydia sucked in a breath.

"It's me, dad," Lydia said, voice surprisingly level. "I called because something happened. Something big."

Her dad paused. " _What happened?_ "

She sucked in another breath, this time unevenly. The air felt thick and no matter how much air her lungs took in, it just wasn't enough. "Mom's dead."

Silence. And then, " _I can't be there for a week, but -_ "

"What do you mean you can't be here? She's your ex-wife."

" _I'm aware of that, but I'm on a business trip, Lydia. I can't just leave without doing what I came here to do."_ After a pause, he continued, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Absolutely perfect. I'll see you in a week then."

" _Don't be like -_ "

A loud thump sounded from the bathroom.  _Allison?_  Her heart lurched and the words that her dad was saying faded to the background. Something was wrong. "Dad, I have to go," she said. Her dad tried to say something else, but Lydia ended the call before sprinting to the bathroom.

"Allison!"

She threw open the shower curtain. Allison lay on the ground, shaking, whispering words in a foreign language. She bent over to pick her up. In her arms, she continued to shake. Lydia said her name again, this time softly, not having the energy to shriek like before. Lydia wasn't strong enough to carry her to the bed so she sunk down to the floor, the shower still running and steam filling the room. "Wake up, Allison. Please." She gripped her tight in her arms, face lowering and forehead resting on Allison's shoulder. What was wrong with her? Did her body give out? The thought made her stomach twist into knots.

The shaking stopped and Allison tensed in her arms. "He knows."

Hearing Allison's voice made her eyes go wide. She was talking now? "Who knows?"

"Hades. He's coming."

 _As in the Hades of the Underworld?_  That Hades? "You're talking about the same Hades I am, right? As in the one that lives in the Underworld?"

Allison nodded. " _That_  Hades." She grabbed her head. "I thought that if I didn't talk, he couldn't find me. I thought…well, I guess that doesn't matter now, does it? I'm sorry. I thought I could save you."

"But I resurrected Peter. Why is this different?"

Allison bit her lip and diverted her gaze.

"What? Tell me," Lydia said.

Allison's brow crinkled as if contemplating whether or not to tell her. Was it really that big of a secret? "Well...while I was down there, I sort of made a...deal."

Lydia closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. They were fucked, weren't they? "What deal?"

"You don't understand. I had to get out of Cocytus. It was horrible. Each second felt like fifty years. The screaming is constant. Being in the river feels like drowning in blood. I couldn't take it anymore. I had to do something. Becoming a ferrywoman seemed the only way to go, but he's the jealous type. He doesn't just let his servants leave him."

Something about the look Allison had - helpless and not unlike a sad puppy - made her want to wipe it off. Lydia gave her a hug. "I'm sorry about everything. You don't deserve any of this."

Allison sighed and after a pause, said, "What are we going to do now?"

They couldn't do this alone. She winced. They would need the pack and they would not be pleased with her. "Let's start with the pack."

Lydia got herself together before reluctantly texting Derek to ask to set up a meeting with the pack after they left the motel. She had no choice, though she wished she did. They both decided it would be best if Allison stayed home. The pack would probably react better to Lydia explaining it to them without her presence. Well, that's what she hoped, anyways.

When she arrived, everyone was in a good mood, talking and laughing. She knew all of that would disappear soon.

Lydia cleared her throat and everyone shut up instantly. She took a deep breath before deciding she'd just rip the Band-Aid off. "Allison is alive."

They must have not processed the words all the way because they just froze, staring at her as if they weren't sure she was telling the truth.

"That can't be right, she's dead. We saw her die," Scott said. The others mumbled in agreement.

This was going to be painful. She swallowed thickly. "I resurrected her. You should be able to smell her on me if you don't believe me."

Scott and Derek's nostrils flared and Scott tensed. Stiles grabbed Scott's arm as he surged up from his spot on the couch.

"Why didn't you tell us?"

Lydia had no answer. She couldn't exactly tell him why. Instead she said, "We need your help -"

"You come in here after a month of not talking to us to ask for help? We mourned her too, you know."

"I just brought her back to life, Scott. It's not like I intentionally tried to hurt you."

"Explain."

"Hades is coming for her."

"Hades?" Scott looked at her blankly. And then, it finally it clicked. "You're joking."

"I'm not." Her eyes flitted around the room, watching as their expressions morphed from their previous expressions to confused and some in disbelief. "She had a vision and he's coming."

Kira tilted her head. "Why would he be concerned with Allison?"

"She...made a deal with him. She was one of his ferrywomen."

Scott paced the room and the others were lost in their own minds, most likely trying to process everything.

"Then we need to start preparing," Derek said after a pause.

"How do we even prepare for this?" Lydia said.

"We gather up weapons. Do everything we can."

Lydia nodded slowly. Would it be enough, though?

Derek continued, "We'll start tomorrow night." They had school tomorrow, after all.

Everyone left not long after that and Lydia went back to the house, mind trying to find a way to get them out of this mess and wondering if, even with the pack, they could survive this. The dog was only the beginning of their trouble, she could only guess what was next. The question was on her mind all night.

They met up the next afternoon. Derek immediately told them the roles they needed to play. Lydia and Allison were going to do research, Stiles and Kira were tasked with getting weapons and helping their defenses, and Scott and Derek were on watch duty.

They left after that and when they sat down and started doing research a thought occurred to her.

"Why haven't you asked to see your family?"

If she were Allison, she would want to at least ask if her family was alright and Lydia hadn't heard one thing about them from her.

"They're fine. When I was down there, I could see things happening on Earth as well. My dad's in France with Isaac. I'll contact them eventually, but we have too many things going on and them coming would complicate things."

Lydia nodded and didn't ask anything more about it.

Information worth anything on Hades was hard to come by, they soon found out not long after they started doing more research. The only sites of worth were the ones that had books on the occult long out of print. Allison helped as much as she could with telling her what she knew about Hades and going through the books with her. It was long and tedious work and when they finally found something about Hades' weakness, she texted Derek that they found something, but was so tired she fell asleep without expanding.

Instead of explaining everything through text, she decided to just go over there but didn't bother sending a text seeing as someone seemed to always be there. And she was right. Only, she wished she hadn't been. It was Scott who opened the door and as soon as she saw his face, she felt the urge to run.

"Are the others here?" Lydia asked, looking past him into the house.

"No -"

"Then I'll just come back -"

"No. You're not. We're going to talk."

That sounded ominous.

Lydia gave him a suspicious look before stepping past him and into the living room.

She turned around slowly, eyes darting to the closing door and said, "What did you -"

"Why didn't you tell me? Don't you trust me? Trust the pack?"

Lydia sighed before plopping down on the couch. "It's not that...exactly."

"Then what is it? She died in my arms, Lydia. Do you know how hard it has been?"

"Hard for you?" Lydia gritted her teeth. How dare he? He had the pack and she had no one. "She was my best friend. You guys weren't even together when she died. You had a pack and Kira and I had no one. No one, Scott."

Scott sighed and sat down. "I understand you were hurt, but I wish you hadn't closed us out. We would've been there for you if had just talked to us."

The anger drained and she wanted to hold onto it. She didn't want to feel the guilt bubble to the surface. It infected every inch of her mind, filling her up and making her stomach feel as if a thousand fire ants were chaotically marching about.

A moment of silence passed between them. Scott glared at her, but it lacked fire and Lydia returned the glare only to keep up appearances.

"I'm selfish. Everybody moved on from Allison and I couldn't. I couldn't give her up so easily."

Scott shook his head, a bitter smile on his face. "No one gave her up. You just gave up on us."

Her gaze dropped down to her hands in her lap. "Whatever." He just didn't understand, but she couldn't make him. Every time she went to talk, she choked on the words while Scott's gaze burned into her.

He moved to the door before she looked up. Scott seemed so tired and suddenly, she felt it too. "I thought we could talk and… you know what? I don't even know what I thought." Scott opened the door. "They'll be here tonight."

Why did she feel like this - like she wanted to puke, like she was...guilty? Lydia was right, wasn't she? She went to the door robotically, the question of whether or not she was right circling her mind. Before she could stop it, the words, "I'm sorry," came out. Scott's expression softened and his grip on the door handle loosened. Despite that, he didn't say anything and she left, tears that shouldn't be happening burning at the edge of her eyes.

As soon as she got home, she found Allison on her bed, listening to music, bulky headphones on. Allison gave her one look before taking them off. "What's wrong?"

Lydia lied back on her bed, tracing the texture on the ceiling with her eyes. "What makes you think anything is wrong?"

"I know you, and I know when you're upset."

Lydia paused, contemplating her next words. "Am I a bad person for not telling everyone else?"

"What brings this up?"

"I went to the Hale house and Scott was there alone and we...talked."

"He didn't seem upset when he came here, though."

Lydia's gaze snapped to Allison's form. "When did this happen?"

Allison snorted. "Do you really think he wouldn't have demanded to see me when you went over there if he hadn't?"

That was true. But it felt weird to think of and made her ache. He was in her house. He and Allison  _talked_. Was this...jealousy?

"And to answer your question - no, I don't think you're a bad person. You were just misguided."

"So you think what I did was wrong?"

"I didn't say that. I see why you did what you did, but I also see why Scott's frustrated."

That didn't make her feel any better. Allison was supposed to say she was right; that Scott just didn't understand. Why was this feeling so heavy in her stomach?

"Oh, come here." Before Lydia knew it, Allison got up from her bed and went to Lydia's to give her a hug. Lydia gripped Allison's shirt in a tight hold. "It's alright. Everyone does things they regret."

Lydia nodded but didn't say anything. Allison went back to her bed for a second to get her music before returning. Lydia stared into space trying to distance herself from the situation. It didn't work, but at least she felt better than before.

They finally moved when it was time to go to the Hale house.

The pack greeted Allison warmly, giving her a hug and asking how she's been, but we're awkwardly silent towards Lydia as if they didn't know whether to be mad at her or forgive. Not long after Derek cleared his throat, the group shut up and she and Allison took their seats.

Derek cleared his throat. "So what information do all of you have to report?"

Kira cut in before Lydia was able to reply, "We got the weapons and we've put enough traps and barriers around here. We couldn't go all out, but we took care of almost everything."

"We found Hades' only weakness is the Chaos Goddess and that he doesn't have much influence on the people of Earth," Lydia said quickly before anyone else could cut in. Everyone froze at word chaos. "Not that the second weakness will be much help."

"Are you telling us you want to summon the Chaos Goddess?" Scott asked.

"Of course not. She's imprisoned in the Underworld."

"Don't tell us you plan to break her out." Derek paused before adding, "What about this 'no hold on Earth' weakness?"

"Don't worry. We're not going into the Underworld - " Lydia said and then stopped when Allison touched Lydia's arm. Allison gave her a look and briefly said that she wanted to explain it. Lydia nodded. It wasn't like she was getting anywhere anyways.

"Nyx -" At their blank looks, she added, "the Goddess of Chaos cannot be imprisoned all the way. She lives in this world as much as her physical body lives in the Underworld. All we need to do is call upon her."

"This is the Goddess of Chaos we're talking about. Chaos. You guys know what chaos means, right?" Stiles said.

Lydia rolled her eyes. "We know what chaos means. And, honestly, this is our best hope: chaos or otherwise. Unless you want to go into the Underworld to defeat Hades, there isn't another way."

They started to protest, but it died down when Lydia gave them the speech again on how there wasn't any choice: it was too dangerous and looking realistically at the situation, they couldn't defeat Hades. They still didn't look happy about it, but at least they somewhat reluctantly agreed. They moved onto other updates and planning and she tried to listen while all of these thoughts wouldn't leave her mind. The gravity of the situation hit her hard and she wondered if they would make it out alive. Her and Allison had found a ritual that would call upon chaos' forces but would it work? And if it did, what would be the repercussions?

"What do you think of Sunday night for the ritual?" Derek asked Lydia at a point.

"Yeah. Sunday is fine," Lydia said.

The rest of them turned their attention back to Derek talking about their strategy for Sunday and how they were going to guard the parameter of the forest in case Hades decided to strike. Apparently only Allison, Kira, and Lydia would be performing the spell, which was fine with her. They didn't need anyone else. Especially more of the same pack who were angry at her.

When Derek was done talking, he sat down and the others started having conversations that didn't involve her. Not surprising but it still hurt. And she wanted to go. Now.

Lydia turned to Allison who was talking softly to Scott, both of them looking content and something inside of her squeezed. More jealousy? Her eyes grew wide as she realized something. Was this... Did this go beyond jealousy. Did she have romantic feelings towards Allison?

She wanted to forget the soft look Allison was giving Scott. Allison never looked at her that way. Yes, in a similar way, but it wasn't quite the same. What was the difference? Knowing would probably be worse, though.

Lydia walked up to them and said, "Come on. Let's go **,**  Allison."

Scott gave her a tight smile and Allison tilted her head. "What for?"

"Well, I have homework I need to do and everything."

Allison looked confused. "Do you really want me to come too?"

"I guess you don't have to if you don't want."

Everything rebelled in her against the notion of leaving Allison alone. But she wasn't strong enough to stay here and wait. To stay here and watch as Allison gave Scott looks she didn't give her. Even if she didn't stay here though, someone would give Allison a ride and even look out for her even if it wasn't her. The thought just made the growing ache in her stomach worse. Because even if Lydia tried to protect Allison, she knew the pack could do it better.

She gave a grimace that she attempted to make look like a smile, but it probably ended up as stiff as it felt on her face. She didn't wait for a reply, but nearly ran to the car.

Lydia drove to her house quickly, and she couldn't help but regret ever telling the pack any of this. If she didn't, this feeling would be gone and she wouldn't have to share Allison. She lost her again, hasn't she? All of her friends, as well. She started to cry again - something she has been doing a lot lately - watery vision blurring the road. She felt so helpless. Everything had been going so right.

She was in control of nothing anymore and it frightened her. She wanted to give up right now.

Allison was home not long after her. She strode through the door and found Lydia in her room under her blanket.

"What's wrong?" Allison said, standing above her bed.

"Where's Scott?"

"He's going back to his house because he  _had_ to drive me home."

"You didn't want to leave Scott." Her voice sounded robotic and distant. Was that even her voice?

"Yeah, and I also called after you when you left."

"I didn't hear."

"Seriously, what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong. Can I just go to sleep in peace?"

"I thought you were doing homework." Allison sighed. "Look, I know something is wrong. Just tell me."

Something surged in her chest prompting her to stand up. Words came like vomit. "You really want to know what's wrong with me? You are. You're what's wrong with me. I hate the way you look at Scott. It's different and I can't stand it. What's different, huh, Allison? Do you like him better than me?"

"You know it's not like th-"

"What is it like, then? Do you still love him? Is that it?"

"It's not like that!"

"Then what  _is_  it like?"

Allison grew quiet. Lydia clenched her fists. So it was true? Did she like Scott more? Perhaps even romantically still. Lydia's chest felt as if someone was sitting on it.

"I - I don't think I should tell you."

"Tell me."

"I love Scott as a friend…"

"So you don't love me as a friend, is that what you're telling me?"

Allison didn't reply just buried her face in her hands. It didn't hit Lydia about what she truly meant until a few seconds later.

"You love me...that way?"

Lydia had never thought she could love her in that way. The thought made her smile.

"I ruined everything, didn't I?" Allison whispered.

"No! I'm just speechless. Happy." Warmth bubbled in her chest.

Allison dropped her hands from her face and looked at her. "You're happy?

Instead of answering her, Lydia gave her a hug, face planted in her neck. "Yes, I am."

Allison stiffened and then grew lax. They didn't say much after that.

The next day, Lydia went to school and Allison stayed home, preparing for the ritual. Stiles' dad called a little after school, telling her she needed to go to the station to answer questions before she went home. The interview at the station took so long she didn't come home until the sun was setting. Reliving that day put her in a bad mood. She felt emotionally drained and when she came to her room, Allison was gone and Kira was in her room, touching  _her_  stuff on  _her_  dresser.

"Why are you here?"

Kira jumped and turned around quickly, then laughed awkwardly. "You shouldn't sneak up on people." At Lydia's unwavering glare, Kira continued, "Allison wanted me to come over to help her with something."

"Where is she?"

"She went to go get something from the forest."

Lydia narrowed her eyes. "What was she getting?"

"So I know that you're weird when it comes to her, but I did nothing to you. She called me and I came. Ask her if you have any questions."

Lydia didn't say anything, just merely plopped on her bed, arms folded across her chest. She knew she was being ridiculous, but she couldn't get herself to admit she was being rude. Kira sat on the floor after that, stiff and phone out as if she wished she were somewhere else. Lydia wanted to say something to dispel the awkward silence. It bugged her and she really had no problem with Kira.

Eventually, despite the need to be right, she said, "So how have you been?"

It wasn't an apology, but at least it quelled that part of her.

Kira looked up from her phone, eyebrows up, but answered nonetheless, "I've been good. Thanks?"

Lydia rolled her eyes. "You're helping us, I don't hate you."

Kira paused and examined her face. "Sometimes I wonder about you. You act like you hate everyone, but you...don't. Why?"

Did she really act like she hated everyone? Well, now that she thought about it, she kinda did. "I don't know," she answered truthfully.

"You don't know?" Kira paused, lips pursed, eyes staring off into space as if she was trying to think of something. Then the expression faded and was replaced with a sort of understanding. What could Kira be thinking? "So about the pack: I heard that you were a big part of it before. What happened?"

"Allison died." She couldn't bring herself to say more. The memories from back then surfaced, and a dull pain blossomed in her chest.

"But shouldn't that bring you closer together?"

Kira was right. Everything would have been a lot easier if she had moved on from Allison. If her obsession with bringing her back hadn't developed, she could've stayed with them, healed, and those dark days wouldn't have happened, but she didn't regret anything now. Having Allison here was worth all of the pain.

"I guess it should have," Lydia said.

After that, the room was once more plunged into silence, but not long after, Allison return.

"Sorry I'm late. I had to grab some things…" Allison held out the herbs and branches in her hands and then sat down on the floor by Kira. At Lydia's confused expression, she said, "I thought we should practice before Sunday."

"You think we'll mess it up?" Lydia asked.

"Well yeah, kind of. This is a big ritual with really complex parts that anyone who isn't familiar with it, would mess up."

"Okay." Lydia got up from her spot on the bed and sat on the floor with them. "Teach us then."

"The first part is easy. You just draw the circle. But the next part is complicated. Everyone has to move the right way and put their branch in the circle at the right time while remembering when to take it out down to the second, while saying their parts the right way."

Kira grimaced. "That does sound painfully complicated. What parts do each of us have, then?"

Allison explained everything in great detail, but when she started reading their parts from the paper, she started to shake and then fell to the side.

They both immediately went to her side and tried to shake her awake. Lydia's chest felt as if it'd burst.

Then, Allison woke with a start, eyes wide, still shaking. "He's found me."

Lydia flinched. "He's coming, isn't he?"

"Tonight," Allison said. "It's too late. Chaos won't be able to save us now."

And that frightened her. If they didn't have chaos, they had nothing.

Kira hopped up. "Then we fight."

Allison reached underneath her bed to get her bow and arrows and Kira went out of her room to get her katana before Kira came back and threw Lydia her baseball bat that laid on top of her dresser.

Then, Lydia's cellphone rang. "Scott," it read and Lydia picked it up instantly.

A harsh grunt came from the other end, silencing anything she was going to say. "Lydia are you there?" Moaning and bones being snapped sounded in the background. And was that Derek yelling something in the distance? "We need you to find Kira and - " Scott was cut off and three loud thuds sounded afterwards. He continued, "We're surrounded and we can't come to help you. They're all coming from - " the sound of metal hitting flesh " - cemetery. Don't go near there. Stay home." Then, the line went dead.

Lydia turned towards the others' confused faces. "That was Scott. They're in trouble." She stood up. "And we have to help them."

Allison and Kira nodded and followed Lydia outside. She gripped her bat. She was scared, stomach in knots, queasy to the point of wanting to throw up, but the need to save everyone drowned out those distressing feelings. They couldn't give up. Not now.

When they came through the door, the zombies' attention fell on them. They were ugly. Their flesh was decaying and they appeared as if they were mutated people as well as zombies. Their hands and feet were twice the size as normal with long nails and both their feet and hands were crimson. The streets were filled with them, slouching and staggering towards where Kira, Allison, and Lydia stood. They sprinted to the car and Lydia got into the driver seat and started it.

She ran over the zombies to get to the graveyard. She tried to go as fast as she could, but it didn't work due to large amount of zombies everywhere. She hit a group of them with her car, but before she could go past them, the car died on a road, forest to her left and an abandoned warehouse to her right. The zombies banged on the windows and she took a deep breath.

They were going to fight now. Her mouth suddenly felt dry.

Kira got out of the car first and slashed the closest zombie through the head. It fell to the ground immediately. Her gaze snapped to them still in the car. "Are you going to help me or...?" After, they burst into action, helping Kira kill the surrounding zombies and the blood and gore blurred in her mind.

One of Allison's arrows swooshed passed Lydia, killing a zombie to her right that she didn't notice until then. "I'm going to higher ground," Allison said.

They both nodded at Allison. After all, if she was on higher ground, she could use her weapon to its full potential.

They fought further in, away from the car until Kira and Lydia were in front of the warehouse and Allison on the roof. They needed to clear out the zombies so they could make their way to the cemetery to hopefully get to the bottom of this. Maybe they could help bring a stop to the attack there.

A dozen or so zombies remained and all three of them got to work killing them as quickly as they could. Then, as they were killing the remainder of the zombies, a deep voice, smooth but vile screamed in her and probably the others' too if Kira dropping to the ground and Allison freezing was anything to go by, heads the simple word of "come."

 

 

Her breath hitched as she saw Allison grow even more rigid, bow drawn, slowly sink to the floor. Lydia hit another zombie with her bat before running back to Allison. Did Hades have a hold on her mind or something? What was Hades doing to her? Kira said something, but she couldn't hear over the blood pounding in her ears.

She needed to get to Allison. But before she could, the zombies turned to ash with a deafening crack. The ground opened up in front of her. Cement crumbled into the hole, green flames rose with smoke and a dark figure rose with it. Lydia scrambled back to avoid falling to her death. The voice grew in volume in her mind as Hades said something in a different language, most likely directed at Allison.

Lydia grabbed her head. It hurt. More than hurt. It felt like he was slamming her head into cement with each word. His voice grew harsh and terse before a hand came out of the smoke and grabbed Allison.

Lydia started shaking. Hades sounded mad. He had Allison in his grip, fist so tight it looked as if she'd be crushed into nothing at any moment.

Allison was going to die. Again. She couldn't let that happen, but she couldn't move. Her body was gripped with a fear so fierce that it felt like weights tied her down.

But he was bringing her closer. Every second that she stayed like this, Allison came closer to dying. Lydia let out a shaky breath before forcing her trembling body up.

"Hey!" Lydia yelled. "I've got a deal for you!" The words came out without much thought and she probably should've at least thought about it before potentially fucking everything up, but with Allison still in his grip, she couldn't get herself to care.

"Human – no **,**  not human. Something else. You're the one who stole her from me," Hades said.

"Yes I am. And I want to offer you something in return for letting us live."

"Oh? And what might that be?" He sounded as if he found the notion amusing.

Think. Fuck, what was she going to offer him? But then it clicked. "You need agents and power on the upside, don't you? Maybe Allison and I could help."

"...Go on."

"None of the other gods and goddesses have a strong grip here. You could become the strongest being if you had the power up here to do so. You'd have no weakness. You can feel it, can't you? I'm a banshee. I can give you power up here: the only place you don't have it in."

He paused for a couple minutes, most likely contemplating the offer. Lydia couldn't stop shaking, eyes going back and forward from Allison to him. "You have a point." His grip on Allison grew lax and he dropped her feet first almost six feet away from where Lydia stood. The weight off her chest lifted. "I will spare your lives for eternal servitude."

"We agree to the terms," Lydia said and Allison didn't say anything.

"We will be in touch," he said before the hole swallowed him up and closed.

Lydia let out a breath of relief and sank to her knees. "We're not going to die." But then she hopped back up and ran to where Allison stood. "Are you alright? Are you hurt?"

"No I'm fine."

 

 

"Are you sure?" Before Allison could answer, Lydia took her in her arms and hugged her tightly. "I thought you were going to die again." Lydia suddenly burst into tears. She'd been crying a lot lately, hadn't she? But these tears seemed final; this was probably going to be the last time she was going to cry in a while.

"I'm alright, Lydia. I'm alright."

And Lydia smiled because she believed that now. They were going to be alright from now on. Eternity though? Well, they'd deal with that when they got to it even if she did feel like hyperventilating. Selling her soul to Hades was something she wasn't comfortable with, but it was necessary.

Kira joined them not long after and they separated reluctantly. That night they joined with the others and celebrated making it out alive.

**Six months later**

Lydia awoke with a jolt as her forehead hit the car's dashboard. Apparently, their seatbelts were shit.

"Good morning to you too," Lydia said, rubbing her forehead. Allison really needed to stop doing that. "What did I miss?" Lydia didn't mean to fall asleep on the way to a meeting with Hades, but she guessed driving for two days straight would do that to you.

"You didn't miss much. We just have to go back to California."

"Back to California? I thought he told us we couldn't go back for a while?"

"Well," Allison said, "he changed his mind when I gave him a convincing argument."

"Oh? And what was that?

Allison winked. "It's a secret." Lydia started to protest but Allison cut her off, "We can't be stationed in Beacon Hills, but I picked somewhere close so the pack could visit us sometime."

Something squeezed in her chest. She had never fully made up with any of them. Looking back at her actions now, she saw their side of things in stark clarity. If she were them, she would've been less forgiving.

"Don't worry about it. I can already tell what you're thinking. I'm sure they've moved on. Everything will be okay." Allison took one of Lydia's hands from her lap and squeezed. "Just say sorry this time. And make it up to them. Buy them a couple of pizzas or something. I'm sure they'll melt."

 _Because a couple of pizzas will fix everything,_ she wanted to say, but didn't. Instead, she smiled and squeezed Allison's hand right back. She needed to make it up to everyone, including Allison. But they had eternity. The thought didn't seem so daunting as it did at first. But, with Allison at her side, everything would be worth it.


End file.
